Escape to the Woods
by ghosttrees
Summary: Lyra Capricorne is forced to flee to the woods with men hot on her trail who are attempting to kidnap her into prostitution. After waking from unconsciousness, she realizes that she isn't the only one living in the woods. Will this certain someone help her or hurt her? Rated T just in case.
1. Running Away

Escape to the Woods

**Chapter 1: Running Away**

The attractive 19-year old girl stumbled through branches gasping as she ran. The meadows of the forest were thick and the sound of panting could be heard while the cold wind blew against her.

The men were after her. Ever since she was young, her parents had perished in a fire that had been set to her house long ago. It was unknown how it happened or who did it, all she knew was that she was forced to work in the streets, selling apples and anything of value. She was running because a man that ran a brothel house tried to grab her and force her into the business, which she declined. When he had tried to grab her one more time, she let her fist fall hitting him squarely in the face. It wasn't the strongest hit, but when the man fell back in surprise, his arm which had been used to defend himself from falling cracked. A broken wrist which had caused the man such fury that for two days he sought to hunt her down to an abandoned hut in the edge of the woods-the woods she was running through at this moment.

She took a pause trying to squint through the darkness. She could hear the men's voices as well as footsteps growing louder sending her a jolt of anxiety. She had to outrun them some more. She pumped her legs even faster as she raced through the dark, the only light being the half moon and its simmering stars. Bush after bush after tree she passed blurring from her vision as she sped. A twisted root she did not see lying on the path caused her to fall and skin her knee harshly, but she got up quickly and without so much as a whimper full of adrenaline because of more serious threats. They were somewhere not too far off behind her. The branches whipped her legs, arms, and face mercilessly sending rashes and she disrupted spider webs-but she did not care.

She came to an abrupt halt. She had come to a clearing where before her lay a cliff. Fear seeped through her heart as she watched the edge of the cliff hopelessly. _How on earth was she going to escape?_ She thought frantically. She cast her eyes wildly about for an escape route but found none. She was cornered. Trapped.

Unless…

_What if I hid?_ She thought the last thing on her mind. _Would they find me? Where would I hide?_ As if in answer to her distress she eyed the Cliffside. The voices were coming closer. She had no choice…it was her only chance. She dreaded to think what would happen to her if caught, yet she nimbly got down on her knees…

"She's not here!" yelled one of the men who had stopped yards away from the cliff, "She must have hidden somewhere back there!"

-"Naw, I heard her in front of us the whole time, she could not have hid," said another.

"I know she's hear somewhere" yelled the leader, Fausto- who had his right wrist in a splint, "I can feel it!" he breathed, clenching his teeth as his dark eyes scanned the darkness for any trace of movement or clue.

Meanwhile she was on a ledge at the Cliffside, hidden from view. She dared not breath as she heard the footsteps draw near. She panicked at the very thought that they might hear her heartbeat thumping wildly. But the sound must have died out in the howling wind at this altitude.

Their leader took one more look, furiously disappointed that she had escaped and beckoned his men reluctantly away. But before they left, she heard him scream through the night that sent her quivering in fear.

"Lyra Capricorne, I will find you if it's the last thing I do!"


	2. The New Woods

**This has been my first ever fanfic. Just joined yesterday xD well anyways, to the first person who ever reviewed, thank you! Your support and those who after, mean a lot to me :D. In response to april7000222, the time/ date in the story is kinda alternate universe and yeah...when it comes to certain date and time in the story, I kinda don't know for sure what time period I want to put that-especially if it's a fanfic of a creepy pasta. I guess I would have to say it is a little like in the 1950s or so and it takes place in Britain. **

**Chapter 2-** The New Woods

For the entire night, Lyra kept awake, nervous to fall asleep while she clung to whatever crevice rocks held her from falling off. She stayed like that past midnight unto the morning where she was exhausted. Her muscles ached and were tight from hugging the wall. When she started to move, she worried she wouldn't have enough strength to get herself back up to the top, and when she finally did, she heaved a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor exhausted. She desperately wanted to fall asleep, but the fear of having the men searching for her around this spot brought her to her feet. She couldn't stay here for long. Suppose the men would come back here to find her? She shivered at both the thought and the cold April air. The sun had not come up yet, which sent her muscles throbbing. Everything in her body seemed to be weary, even her eyes which were constantly closing with fatigue.

If the men found her now, she wouldn't be able to run and was as good as dead. With her heart thumping, half expecting to hear them at any moment, she traveled both swiftly and silently as she could walking the edge of the precipice stiffly towards the direction she hoped would be solid ground.

_I need to find a place to hide_ _and rest_ Lyra thought. She slumped forwards like a zombie, dragging her tired feet while massaging her arms.

She was lucky-_very_ lucky to be alive still. If she could just go down to the side of the cliff and into generally flat forest, she would be safe. There would be trees where there would be water and possibly food. She was ravenous since she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.

Fortunately after several minutes in which she slowly got blood flowing back into her veins, she came to woods far off from the cliff. The forest looked eerie even in daylight and she wondered with a sense of apprehension how it would look come nightfall, but it was her only chance to get away from her captors. She just was considering taking a step in, when she stopped.

A memory had appeared like a bubble into her conscience. She had heard rumors regarding these woods that were not at all pleasing to hear. Ten years ago a group of men that came to hunt for sport at this part of the woods never came back. No matter how many people went looking for them, they too had disappeared as well. Soon, nobody had wanted to take so much as a step into these woods for fear that it was cursed, or almost as if it held some kind of monster…

She could find no better place to get away from her captors and even though she didn't believe in curses or ghosts haunting, she nevertheless worried.

_Well, I'm just going to have to go_ she reasoned _anything would be better than getting captured by those dirty men. If I were to ever die, it would be better to die here than-_

"There she is!"

Lyra whipped her head behind her in horror to see the men who had chased her last night. Even from far away, she could see Fausto in the middle of the group and a little ahead with his face set into a leer. Something shiny glinted at his belt and she realized that he was fingering a deadly knife. They were standing six hundred meters away from where she stood; then they started running at an alarming speed.

She ran into the woods.

If there were any injuries that she had felt during her previous escapee, she completely ignored them for the time being while she was running to get away as fast as her tired legs could take her. The men sounded like they were gaining speed, she could hear them from a distance off yelling or giving instructions.

The woods here were thicker than any woods she had seen as she fought to quicken her pace. She probably wouldn't be able to escape them this time. _And hiding would actually result in the m potentially finding me!_

Presently she saw something ahead that reflected-a river!

Could she escape, or at least delay the men by crossing the river? It was her only chance to somehow loose them. The river looked very wide from her point of view and the water rapids were rushing pretty fast. She waded into the water, ignoring the icy coldness of it sending goose bumps up her body. The current was stronger than she realized, and it pulled her suddenly away as easily as a leaf on the water, leaving her little to grab on to. It tossed her to and fro, forcing her to submerge her head twice and bumping her limp body against other rocks. Then she saw something that made her heart stop cold. Ahead was the end of a waterfall.

There was no way to avoid it. She fell, screaming into the water below. Her body slammed into the water, and when she came up, the thundering sound of the waterfall could be heard in her ears.

Exhausted and limp, she somehow managed to drag her weary soaked body unto the embankment where she shivered uncontrollably.

At this point she was too tired to care about anything as she slumped to the mud. She didn't notice that through the mist of the water came a tall strange being that considered her for a moment before picking her up in his arms. All she knew was that her body ached terribly sending fresh waves of pain to her head. She dropped her eyelids in resignation to the inevitable, and knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3- Enter, Slenderman

**Hey everyone, thanks for your support!**

**Just an important reminder regarding the story: I have always imagined Slendy's voice to sound a cross between the alien when he was talking to David from Steven Spielberg's **_**Artificial Intelligence**_**, Benedict Cumberbatch from the BBC Sherlock series, and a little like V from **_**V For Vendetta **_**(So a kinda sexy British accent I suppose xD) I sorta wish that the guys who voice acted V and the alien didn't sound like they shuddered when they were talking. But anyways enjoy the new chapter xD! I'll try to write up a new chapter to update as soon as I can.**

**Chapter 3- Enter, Slenderman**

_She felt dazed in her dreams-her vision seemed to have faded, she could only see the blurred image of being inside some sort of house. This house wasn't dark-it was filled with flashing red-yellow lights that seemed to dance before her. All around her she could hear things falling, tumbling, breaking; it seemed as though the house she was in was starting to crumble. She heard something else too from far off-but her ears which had helped her-suddenly stopped working-her vision faded away as quickly as it had come-and she felt the image slowly diminish away…_

Lyra could hear nothing when she finally regained conscience. Her body felt heavy, her eyes which were still closed, felt sore, and she felt as if she had been trampled over several times. She couldn't move her muscles for the moment.

_Am I dead?_

Groggily, she propped herself on her elbows to discover that she was actually lying on something soft-_a bed?_ She thought. Then she felt the first sign of pain creeping up to her like a snake, almost suffocating her senses. _Where was she? Had she been captured?_

She sat up even more to discover she was in a dimly lit room illuminated by several candles a few feet away. But it didn't feel like a room. There was something deadly silent about it. Like the whole sound of the world was mute. She made to get up, and her limbs protested the sudden movement, but she did not care. She was already alert with fear. _Who had brought her to this place?_ Someone or _something_ clearly had saved her-maybe. She was saved from further thoughts when a voice that out of the darkness spoke, causing her to flinch.

"I would not get up right away if I were you," it said quietly.

Lyra swiveled her head in the direction of the voice, eager to find the source. The voice sounded strange-almost inhuman. It had a deep graceful tone that for a man was unique, yet deadly at the same time. It wasn't Fausto or anybody she recognized. She lay back down as directed, but her eyes glued to the darkness where she knew the mysterious person was. _Who was he?_ She didn't think she could trust this strange person one bit, and she still didn't know what he looked like.

"Who are you?" she asked through the dim light. There was a moment of anxiety as she waited.

"I go by many names." The man stated. It almost felt to Lyra as though he were seeing her unblinkingly through the dark, watching her every move. She forced herself not to shudder and instead clenched her bed covers tightly.

"You didn't answer my question," she spoke out, feeling foolish as soon as it came out of her mouth. _Are you crazy?_ She mentally cursed to herself, _He could hurt or kill you right here and now for that remark!_ But then she reasoned, _If he wanted to killed me, he could have done so while I was unconscious._

The mysterious man didn't seem fazed by her remark; instead, there came an exhale as though he were trying to decide something difficult.

"I go by the name of the Slenderman," he finally said much more quietly.

_Slenderman?_ _Had she heard him correctly? _That didn't seem like anybody she knew and it certainly sounded like a strange name to call someone.

"Um…Mr. Slenderman sir, what do you look like?" she probed further.

"I'm afraid my Lady, that you wouldn't want to find that out" Slenderman spoke calmly. It seemed as though he was moving.

"Why not Mr. Slenderman? Why won't you come out into the light?" she asked politely, "There's nothing to fear from being seen by other people because-" she was cut off by Slenderman's next words.

"But I am not human."

What remained of Lyra's kind expression quickly disintegrated. A strange eerie silence followed the procession.

"W…what do you mean?" she asked as she slowly propped herself up on her elbows once more, attempting to stare hard at the dark to see him. Was she talking to a monster, ghost, or perhaps something more repulsive? She had started to feel her arms shaking. A strange sense of foreboding overcame her. Something within the shadows stirred, and her speaker came slowly towards the light for the first time.

Lyra didn't know how she would be able to suppress it. She let out a scream unheard to any but them that seemed to penetrate the darkness as she finally, for the first time, caught the source of the voice.

He had a slender body, built like a man's, and stood tall for one too. He wore the darkest black suit there ever was, complete with dark pants and a red tie that gave his character a serious look with his hands kept folded in front of him in a polite gesture.

Lyra slumped down to her bed in a paralyzed state bed before collapsing. It was not the deathly pale white complexion, the strange attire, or his dark demeanor that sent her into an unconscious state as he slowly stalked towards her from the shadows. She couldn't see him because he was missing one vital thing that made the rest of him look very wrong and so terrifying, that the mere image would be etched into her brain.

**It was because he had no face.**


	4. Revelations and Important Conversation

**Phew, managed to squeeze in the previous chapter last night at 11 AM (so proud of myself xD) anyways here's the new chapter, enjoy!**

**Chapter 4- Revelations and Important Conversation**

"She's not here!" yelled Fausto as he glared out at the river before him. He and his crew had got here in the hopes that the river might have slowed her down, only to come here without Lyra in sight. They were beginning to feel tired and worse tempered-especially Fausto who snarled in impatience at the thought that a young girl had somehow slipped through his fingers again.

"Well, it doesn't look like she completely crossed the river, Fausto," said one of the men.

"Lamar, we don't know that for sure! At any rate, that bitch has a head start on us already!"

"But you're forgetting other news here," said Lamar, then with a slight shudder as he glanced warily around, "These woods is haunted, she ain't even worth it coming here."

Fausto slammed him against a tree that was near the river and pinned him, so that he was eye-level with him. "You really don't have any idea why we are chasing this stupid bitch in the first place?"

Lamar shook his head, nervous. "To put her into our business?"

"No you fool-because she holds the family name, Capricorne. Her father was a rich businessman who owned hundreds-even thousands of pounds. She is their last descendant and has been in the streets, unaware this whole time! Don't you see? If she is alive, we could coerce her into giving us the family fortune!"

Lamar's piggy eyes glinted maliciously, and he set his face into a sly grin. "So if she's found-

-Then we will force her to sign the papers, and through her, we will get the money!" Fausto finished promptly. He let go of Lamar to turn away. "But this stupid f***ing girl got the best of us!" he roared as he kicked the neared small rock into the river, "We can't have her dead-we need her alive!"

"And Fausto," said another man to the left whose name was Crowley. "What will happen to the girl after all this?"

Fausto's mouth widened into an evil smile so that it showed all his intentions on his face as he stared ahead at the river's end.

"Where all women like her go."

Lyra didn't know how long she had been out. She had strange dreams that involved an unknown man and woman smiling at her before disintegrating in smoke, a forest very much like the one she was in-and a tall faceless stranger whose gaze was unending. The tall, faceless person in her dream-the one called Slenderman. He was the reason why she passed out. It had caught her unawares. She had never expected someone to not have a face like he did.

She looked like he was lying on the same cot she had woken up to in the first place. Her brain flared at the memory of the Slenderman, and she shuddered slightly. Where had he gone? Had he felt bad that he scared her and went away? Or was he in the shadows waiting to-

"I am sorry for frightening you." Said a familiar voice from the shadows-Slenderman!

Lyra turned to the direction to see him. He had his face hidden in view, save for his black suit and red tie. She felt calmed be his words for some reason. Her fear started ebbing away slowly of their own accord.

"Please Mr. Slenderman, sir, would it be alright if you were to come a little closer to the light so I can see you?" Lyra asked in a brave voice, "I feel I'm not remotely afraid."

There was a pause, then the Slenderman walked forward as commanded. Yes, he didn't have a face, yet there was something within it that defined his expression. His proud stature walked towards her slowly, yet she did not flinch. There was something alluring about him that what made her frightened before, made her at ease. For graceful proportions and for one so incredibly slender as his name hinted, he looked nevertheless intimidating and strong.

"Forgive me, Lady, for frightening you," he said again. Lyra wondered how he could speak without a mouth like normal humans. She actually did see the form of his face. It was not completely flat like she imagined. She could see the outlines of his mouth and where his nose was. He had an oval face nevertheless that somehow brought his features to sharpness.

"It's alright, it wasn't your fault," she said as politely as she could. The Slenderman had approached the end of her bed before stopping with his head slightly bowed.

"It is unusual for someone like you to want to see something as terrifying as me again, because people who have looked upon me ran as fast as if the devil were after them, screaming at the top of their lungs-but not without good reason."

"What is that reason?"

Slenderman sounded unsure about something, "Well, you see, I have been responsible for the lives of hundreds who have ventured into my forest" Lyra's eyes widened, but he continued, "They were all beings with criminal minds-those who steal for their own gain, those who pollute, those that glorify in death, those that defile others…all of them that came to my forest and met me-well, except for those who don't have anything to do with that sort of thing. You are the first innocent human who has ever glimpsed me at close quarters before. Others like your kind might have glimpsed me for a moment from a distant, but came running out of the forest forever."

The Slenderman paused as he seemed to stare at nothing in particular. "But I don't just kill those people yet-there is a challenge I give them- the Reparation."

"What is the Reparation?" Lyra asked puzzled as she hoped to stare at what she thought, were where the Slenderman's eyes would be.

"It is a challenge where eight pages throughout the forest that are scattered will have to be obtained by the human. Eight pages depicting my appalling form and frightening words on paper. For the time it takes to obtain those pages, the human who has at one point harmed anything in their path for the past, will begin to experience hopelessness and terror as they have bestowed upon other people. The hunter becomes the hunted. In those brief moments, I will appear at random to startle him. If the person does manage to retrieve all pages, then he will be free to go. However, nobody has ever survived the Reparation."

As Lyra heard those words, she cringed slightly as she imagined the people's faces, contorted with horror as they would see him in the dark forest. But then, she reasoned, they were evil people who deserved it. "Um…Mr. Slenderman sir, where are we?"

"We are in my abode, underground," he answered calmly, "You were unconscious when I rescued you, and I had thought you were dead for that moment."

"Thank you for helping me escape," she said gratefully up at him.

"Your captors left my forest a while ago," Slenderman replied, "Those men were after you."

"How…how did you-

"I know everything that goes on in my forest," he said to the surprise of Lyra. "I assumed you wanted to get away. Don't worry, you are safe here."

"Would it be alright if I were to go up to the forest?" She asked. She wanted to get out of bed from the dark, and to see some real light.

"If you're absolutely sure you can walk now after resting and want to go up to surface, you will have to hold on to my arm.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"There is no way accessible to you to go up. And the only way to do that is through direct teleportation," he answered holding out his pale white hand.

Lyra looked astounded, but she raised her hand that he took in hers, and without a word the pair disappeared as quietly from the cave as if they were wiped out the face of the earth.


	5. Slenderman's Woods

**Yays another chapter uploaded guys! I know this is probably a different story of Slender than you imagined, but it was just an idea I had. I know my story is going kinda slow, but I promise it will get better! BTW there will be times where I will update as many as two or three different chapters each day and only if my day goes good. Anyways remember to check! Thanks for all your reviews! :D **

**Chapter 5- Slenderman's Forest **

There was a swooping sensation at the pit of Lyra's stomach as she finally opened her eyes to discover that she was back in the woods. The light from the sun shone through, immediately warming her. Her head swirled for a moment as she took a step forward and she tried steadying herself.

"Careful," came Slenderman's concerned voice next to her as he still held her hand carefully. His touch was surprisingly warm to her-she would have thought he would have claws or something, "are you alright?"

"I…I think so," Lyra answered, "I'll be fine, it's ok." There was a brief moment when her eyes met the Slenderman's gaze as he too, looked directly at her. He was a little more than half a foot taller than her so that her head reached where his collarbone would be. Several seconds they stayed like that, when both broke away.

Slenderman stared away to the north where in the distance several miles away she saw mountains. They didn't look like any mountains she had seen. They had sharp jagged edges even from far away and seemed to expand all the way around the forest. It seemed as though-

"These serve as the boundary for my forest. But only if you don't know the secrets to getting around them," he finished as he looked at Lyra with his head cocked to the side as though being secretive.

Lyra smiled as while all around her, she stared at the marvelous woods. The coniferous trees here looked greener than she had ever thought possible. It was as though everything in these woods were greatly contrasted-everything looked clear and seemed to have all colors of the rainbow-the bright green leaves to the white snowdrops on the wild green grass that hinted yellow at the edges, and even the bark on the trees looked clearly defined. Then she heard a sound she hadn't heard before-the melodious sound of different birds chirping.

"It's beautiful!" Lyra gasped.

The Slenderman seemed to give her a smile hearing as he walked towards a direction with a clearing, Lyra in his wake who was too busy gazing at everything in awe. For years, she had always lived in the city where it was overrun with poverty and she always saw sick people on the streets. Though she somehow managed to keep from getting sick, she nevertheless dreaded seeing the dull colors of the town. Gray gray, gray was all she ever saw and felt- the color was like the color of sorrow and despair to her and she hated it. Here, everything was green and a bright vibrant color, even the sky was a dreamy deep blue that made her eyes want to wander into it forever.

"Would you like to see more of it?" he offered, "Or did you want to find the way back to where you came?"

Lyra who had been watching everything around her, suddenly turned away with a sad expression on her face.

"What is it?" he inquired as he stopped walking suddenly to look at her closely.

For a moment she didn't speak then realized that she should tell him since he had been honest with her from the start since he started helping her. "I can't. I have nowhere else to go," she mumbled. She desperately wanted to turn away, but she thought against it. "I lived alone on the streets since I was a child trying to fend for myself. If I go back now, the men will be after me."

Slenderman looked at her for a good long moment, his gaze unwavering; and for a moment, she thought she could see pity from the way his pale face moved, but he seemed to have changed the look once he saw her look at him.

"So you don't have anywhere else to go," he finished for her. She bit her lip and looked away wordlessly.

"You don't have to go back there," he assured her, surprising Lyra. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to look up at him stunned, "You can stay here instead."

"B…but," began Lyra nervously. "Aren't these woods yours? I mean…would it really be alright with you?" she asked in a hushed breath.

"Did I falter when I offered you? Besides, I don't think you have a choice in the matter," he joked, making her smile appear again. If Slenderman would have any expression on his face, then it would be something close to a smile-as close as he could make a real one. She could just see the outline to where his mouth curved up.

"I would like to stay." She said.

Slenderman nodded silently, as though very pleased. He looked ahead the forest a sudden idea overtaking him."Come. I want to show you more of the forest with me."

And with that, Lyra eagerly followed him, keen to see more of the beautiful forest.

The End.

**JUST KIDDING! xD**

**I will update more of this story! **


	6. Slenderman's Manor

**Yay I'm done swimming now time to do more stories! The forest that she sees is a little bit like the garden from The Secret Garden. Lyra looks a little bit like Jennifer Connelly: Thick black wavy hair and pale white skin with rosy cheeks and bright green emerald eyes. Another thing: I feel like this story is moving waaay too slow, so I'm going to speed it up a little. I'll be starting college classes next week, so I guess I'll be a little busy-but don't worry I'll still have time!**

**Chapter 6- **

The woods they passed through were more beautiful than she imagined. It wasn't just normal scenery-it was more like the Garden of Eden. For example, they passed a thicket where she could see animals of every kind you would see in the forest. There were some plants she saw that didn't look like they would grow there like pansies in unusual places, giant sunflowers in the patch of sunlight that reached almost as high as her; and all around, what seemed like clumped thorn bushes of blackberries. She heard the birds; finch, robin, jay, sparrow, and swallow chirping in the air. They didn't seem at all fazed with the Slenderman's appearance. _Well, maybe they got used to it_ she thought with amusement.

"I just realized," began Slenderman as the pair of them walked together past a trail of maple trees, "I don't know your name."

Lyra smiled, "Lyra Capricorne-My name is Lyra Capricorne."

"Ahh…just like the star constellations in the sky." He said fondly. "That's a fascinating combination of a name."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Lyra answered as she blushed a light pink and could not help grinning. She kept her gaze on the path determined that she would keep herself from blushing anymore. Inside she mentally scolded herself without realizing; _What on earth are you blushing for Lyra, that was more than just a blush_

Meanwhile the Slenderman began showing her different pathways that twisted and turned interestingly. Along the way, she met a number of plants that she had never seen before. One plant that grew up from the ground ended in a straight jagged line. While another flower in the shape of a star had a beautiful snow-white color that was almost the same color as the Slenderman as its many petals bloomed above leafy buds. The Slenderman explained that they were a type of species known as the Astrantia Major and were fast in reproducing when it came to the right season.

"They bloom in early Spring," he declared as he bent slightly to watch a bee's progress among it's petals, "and only in one area-near the mountain alpines."

Lyra, who was watching the sharp points protruding from the ground, looked up surprised. "Wait, so we are actually near the mountains?" She looked up reluctantly to sure enough find that they were at the shadow of the mountain. She didn't remember noticing it-but then she was so busy being captivated by the forest that she forgot to look.

Slenderman watched her intently as she looked with hungry eyes, afraid to miss anything. He found himself looking at her astonished reactions every time he mentioned something whether it was interesting or not. In a way it was quite amusing. He had begun to notice though that her skin was rather a paler than usual color that made it look like she looked a little sick.

"You look a little pale," he stated concerned, which seemed to have stopped Lyra from looking to turn to him, "When was the last time you have eaten?" he asked her.

Lyra seemed to turn a little pink upon being asked, and realized with a sudden jolt that she had forgotten she was hungry. The beauty of the forest seemed to have distracted her _way _too much. Twice, she wondered whether it was really enchanted.

"I ate uh…yesterday morning," she said, and had begun to feel her stomach growling a little.

"Why didn't you say so?" he asked her in a tone that looked irritable but really amused. It sounded for a moment that he was concerned for _her_. It made her feel strange; nobody had really cared for her so much, even if it was as something as simple as asking that. Back at the city, nobody really cared whether she ate or not. It seemed to be like she was invisible.

The Slenderman walked through the grass silently with his slender legs and went to a tree that was situated near the path. He reached his hand as if to touch one of the branches. Before she could ask him what he was doing, she saw that something was growing at the tip where the leaves of the branch were. It was red and round that was growing at a rapid rate- and it broke off to rest in his hand. It was a red apple.

Her eyes glinted mesmerized as he offered her the apple. Slenderman was secretly enjoying himself too much with her expression. "It's…I..thank you," she managed to stutter out and made to take a bite out of it. It was the most delicious apple she had ever tasted.

"It's not much," he said, but nevertheless pleased at himself, "You need to have something more than just an apple! It's a good thing we are close by to teleport into my manor so you could-

Lyra almost choked on the apple when she swallowed, "Manor! You mean you have one in this forest?" she blurted out before she could stop.

Slenderman laughed lightly, "of course I do," he said. Yet Lyra could swear his voice seemed kind of sad for some reason. "It's in fact, up this mountain!" his gaze went almost directly over his head to where it looked like the cliffs of some mountains.

"Let me guess: nobody can enter without direct teleportation?" Lyra hinted good-naturedly.

"You're quite perceptive aren't you?" he said, chuckling before taking her arm and vanishing both of them on the spot.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

They had reappeared in the steps of marble stairs in a second and Lyra found herself looking at the front of a large manor house. It reminded her a little bit like the manor houses that she had seen briefly in some rich neighborhoods, except that this looked like the type of manor that would belong to a rich noble several centuries ago. It had a certain mystical and ancient quality that nevertheless looked impressive yet defined the fact that it seemed somehow abandoned.

"Wow," she exclaimed softly.

Slenderman seemed to smile and he led her towards the oak front entrance where with a single knock, the door burst open, revealing a beautiful living room-the kind you would see in a rich house. However, it was overrun with dust and she wondered how the Slenderman could ever live in a place so dusty.

"This is the living room," he said unnecessarily with a wave of his hand. "It's a bit dusty, really," he added as though a bit embarrassed with the condition.

"Well, a little"

"A little!" he exclaimed, "It's everywhere!"

"Well, I mean, yes, but it still looks really nice." She said a bit laughing, "but if you don't like it, why don't you do something about it?" she asked curiously.

"I don't really have time to do anything about it. I'm always busy doing other things like the Reparation and such," he said hurriedly.

Lyra wasn't quite sure whether he was telling the truth but said anyway, "if it bothers you so much, I could help you by tidying it up here."

The Slenderman looked at her and if he had an expression, he would have shown surprised nervousness, "Would you really do that, I mean-it won't be a bother for you?"

Lyra smirked, "if it was a bother, do you think I would have asked?" repeating the phrase Slenderman said earlier to him.

Slenderman laughed. It wasn't an evil laugh like she would have expected from someone like him (even though he was so awfully nice) it was a good-natured laugh that seemed to come from a young man.

"Alright, Mrs. Witty," he chuckled, "I want to show you the rest of the house!"

He led her to a number of rooms; the kitchen, the dining hall, and went a floor up to see the vast rooms. There was only one area he didn't show her. Up above the winding staircase, there was a room that was shut away. Slenderman told her that it was overrun with dust and it was blocked away, but Lyra could have sworn she heard an edge of sadness in his voice. She didn't know what made her eyes wander to the room, but she hastened to look away at it.

When the quick tour was done, he led her to the kitchens for her to eat. _The kitchen must be magical_ she thought because a platter of food was yielded.

"I will be back," said Slenderman; which left Lyra in the dining hall.

When she finished, she felt much better and was just in time too when he came down to show her the rooms she would like to stay in. Lyra chose one room that was painted blue and Slednerman nodded.

"You may have the run of the house," he told her "if there is anything you need, you can just ask."

"How can I ever thank you?" she said gratefully while blushing.

"You just did, "he said laughing a little.


	7. Books, Blushes, and Blind Thoughts

**Hey guys! Don't worry I have the plot all figured out so don't worry! Oh and by the way, THEY ARE NOT SLEEPING TOGETHER! xD I know it might be hard for some to imagine that, but it's true…it's way too early in the story for that to happen. Some romance scenes might come eventually, though. By the way, this fic is going a lot slower than usual xP but I want it to be as realistic as possible even in this situation! I want to get to the interesting parts like the action/plot and stuff though, not the freakin flirting! xD**

**Anyways ignore my stupid rant, here is the next chapter xD LOL**

**Chapter 7- Books, Blushes, and Blind Thoughts**

For several days, Lyra enjoyed staying at the manor house while she helped rid the rooms slowly of dust. She did not mind cleaning at all even when there were lots of cobwebs and dust. It was odd, but she seemed almost at home-she had not known the feeling since she had never felt at home before, so it gave her a great joy of belonging.

Slenderman sometimes helped her by reaching for places that were high, other times he would just be with her to keep her company. He would sometimes read an interesting book from his library out loud to her depicting ancient knights and great battles. They somehow went through an entire collection of Joan of Arc, Sir Garrett, Richard the Lionheart, and of course the most celebrated knight, King Arthur. At times when he would read to her, she found that apart from being interested in Chivalry in the Middle Ages, her attention seemed mostly to become lost by the mere sound of his voice. It was so soothing and she herself didn't realize it.

He was great at making conversation; they would talk about different things like what he saw in the forest and what was going on there while she would talk about the city where she grew up. He seemed very interested in what she had to say and probed her further for details. One would have thought that from the time talking they had been friends for years.

"Trust me, there's nothing really to see outside here, it's nothing great-just grayness and poverty; If you want to see what the world looks like, why don't you ever go," she asked.

"I would want to Lyra, but unfortunately, the sight of me would scare others like you so bad that they would not want to venture outside ever again," he said sadly.

"But you shouldn't judge a book by its cover!"

"I know but people wouldn't see that; besides, remember the time when you first saw my face?"

Lyra blushed a little red, "yes, but…but…I didn't know you then! I just thought that you were going to kill me!"

"I would never have done that to someone like you," he said solemnly. Lyra looked up at him with an odd expression as he said those words. It was strange, but she began to feel something at the pit of her stomach-almost like a tingly feeling. _What is this bizarre feeling I have?_ She realized suddenly that she had been looking at Slenderman's face closely. He was looking at her as well. They were simply…frozen in each other's gaze. She began to feel a blush working up in her cheeks to make them pink and oddly enough she could almost sense he had the same expression as her. If he had a face, then he would be blushing.

"I…ahem..uh..you know what I mean," he finished lamely turning away as though suddenly bashful. Then the unexpected happen-he blushed! It was a very light red that appeared in his face where his cheeks might have been. It was rather cute.

"You're…you're blushing!" she exclaimed both surprised and greatly amused. The effect of her words if possible, made him even redder as he seemed shocked at himself that he could make such an expression as that. Lyra had started laughing-and blushing so much too, that he had started laughing.

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Slenderman had told her that he needed to be at the west side of the forest for a while because he had to take care of some business with one of the plants. He was basically king of the forest after all, so it was his job to make sure everything was alright. Secretly, Slenderman didn't want to leave her presence: he had enjoyed every hour, every minute, every second with her, even when they were not talking. He noticed that at an alarming rate, he found himself looking at her more often when she was working. he found his eyes traveling to the way her hand deftly moved and her pale white rosy skin and her dark black wavy hair that traveled down her back like a majestic waterfall…her rosy lips..

Slenderman suddenly cringed at himself realizing just what he was thinking and accidently beheaded a dandelion. _Get a hold of yourself, you pervert _he thought punishing himself desperately, _if you keep thinking those things about her she'll somehow know and think you're a pervert. After all, that was why she ran away from those men! And look what it has done to you _he thought, throwing the dandelion aside. Yet he could not shake the image out of his head! _I mean it almost seems like you're in lo-_

_ In love…_

He had never thought about it until now-love. The mere word seemed foreign to him. He had heard through books of gladiators rescuing their maidens out of love and knights proposing to Great Ladies, but he had never actually known what it felt like. Now he thought he did. But it was absurd-he had never loved another person he didn't know before, especially in such a short time since she came!

Pansies that were overgrown with sparse grasses that lay underneath a willow tree. Deftly he summoned his tentacles at will and with eight of them, managed to pull out the weeds leaving the purple flowers free to breath.

No…he couldn't say he was in love…no…

of course not…


	8. Chapter 8-Some Secrets of the Past

**Remember these guys? This chapter is finally going somewhere!**

**Chapter 8- Some Secrets of the Past**

Crowley rummaged through the burnt files of the cabinet. He scattered papers of all kinds that had been recollected from Lyra's old house: Documents of all kinds, but of no importance, pictures of people he never knew, articles cut out of newspapers that had been stored for safe-keeping…

Then at last he found it: A picture of a woman with dishwater blond hair, pale skin-and green eyes.

Lyra's aunt.

"Oh hey Fausto-FAUSTO!" he yelled excitedly, "I think I found it!"

Fausto walked from the room in a hurry with a look of quiet convulsed anger as he waved a hand to quiet him, "Keep your voice down you idiot, we're not supposed to be here, remember? Now what is it?"

"I found what you were looking for," he said much more lower and excitedly pulled out the slightly burnt paper with trembling fingers.

Fausto darted his eyes over the paper for a moment before a pleased smile came over him.

"Excellent, you found it! And not only that but her address is in perfect condition, too!" he said as he examined the paper fondly. "Now this is all we need to ensure our success!"

"Eh, boss," said one of the men, Brutus with a scar across his eye, "why exactly do we need that paper? I mean de girl is in the woods so what would dat do?"

Fausto looked at him with a sneaky smile" She won't stay there for long."

"Why?"

"Well," he went on "We'll go to the next family-the family she doesn't know that's alive: her aunt. We will be able to tell her…what's the word- _come quietly_? Meanwhile this will make the girl want to save her aunt or at least see her so that she'll come out of the forest. Then we will make her do what we want."

All the men were grinning now at these words. "Fausto you're a genius! This is just like a ransom!" Fausto turned, pleased with himself that this plan was going to work out. "And the best thing is," he said with a smirk looking at the night sky through the window, "she's got nobody to help her now because after all: she's just a street urchin!"

"Oh but another thing: How exactly will you be able to find her to tell her about this?" said Lamar curiously as he walked slowly towards their leader.

Fausto turned away to look at him, a glint in his eyes that gave it a rather insidious expression to the room.

"You can leave that to me."

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"It's beautiful" Lyra exclaimed as her eyes widened. She and Slenderman were standing in a field of flowers of all kinds as the wind blew through their faces.

"I thought you would like it," he said smiling at her reaction. "I call this place the 'Eternal Field of Flowers,' nothing special what I called it."

"Nothing special?" she exclaimed, playfully indignant "This field is glorious!"

All the flowers in the field included daisy, geranium, lilies of all kinds, chrysanthemum, geranium, poppies, and other she didn't recognize all in a bright green field that held an excellent view of the majestic mountains. It was really quite breathtaking, the kind you would see in a magical fairytale. She did a twirl around feeling the wind in her face before plopping herself down unto the soft grass.

All this time Slenderman watched her in secret. What captured his interest most was her. She was more beautiful than all the flowers that surrounded her-including the mountain lily and purple Asters that had captured the hearts of many people, including gardeners. Her black wavy hair dancing in the wind gave her the appearance of something wild and even more gorgeous…

Slenderman realized that he was blushing again and quickly turned away in case Lyra would be watching; she would surely say something that would make him blush even more. But it turns out; she was looking at the deep blue sky dreamily while her head lay on her arm as if in a stupor.

"You know, I feel so…so _comfortable_. I've never felt as free and comfortable like this before, I don't think I'd ever been this happy…"

She trailed off, stifled a yawn while her eyes seemed to droop. But Slenderman heard every word; it gave him the strangest sensation in his chest. He had the inexplicable urge to take her hand in his like they had done so just out of teleportation. But they weren't going to teleport-he just…wanted to feel her hand in his own…

He glanced sideways aware of the unexpected quietness to discover that Lyra was asleep. Her eyes lay softly closed while an arm lay draped across her stomach. She looked so peacefully beautiful. But then his thoughts stopped him. He couldn't love her…_he shouldn't_.

He swiftly carried her light sleeping form in his arms holding her, as if in a protective gesture. Normally he would have his tentacles do all the work, leaving his hands free, but he didn't want to. He wanted to actually hold her against him and cringed at the thought that he was still thinking about her. To love her would mean that he would only hurt her more.

You see, it was two-hundred years ago when he was a young man that he became cursed for life by a spell. He had been twenty years old back then-the time when he first began to feel misery.

He was a young man that grew up in a beautiful manor house-the same one that he and Lyra were staying in. He had lived a happy life ruling over the land where he was respected. It was a perfect life where he had no worries…then along came _her_.

Slenderman reached Lyra's room in the manor where with gentle arms, put her on her bed, but not before tucking her in. He gave one last sad look where he ran a hand smoothly to her face for comfort before exiting, the feeling of her skin still on her fingertips.

_Her. Alianor Fairfax-his first love._ She was beautiful with golden locks and bright blue eyes-the daughter of the rich Duke and Duchess who ruled on a small land opposite him. He fell blindly in love with her; though, she proved to be the vainest creature from the face of the earth. She did like him in her own little way, yes; but she also had another suitor who, like him, also fell in love with her.

Slenderman began walking up the stairs to his room-the one Lyra hadn't entered. He didn't want her to see this particular room for obvious reasons.

The woman-Alianor, had preferred the other suitor more which sent him into envy. It angered him so much that she would have him, that he went into a blind rage to decide to kill the man. Later at night when the man went to sleep in his own chambers, he slid through the door as quiet as a mouse and murdered him in the middle when he was dreaming.

The maiden, however somehow knew that he was behind it, so she ordered her guards to come after him, but without success. In the end, he crawled through her window to confront her so he could proclaim his foolish love to her and beg her to be his. But he should have known that the unspeakable crime he did coupled with the love she still had for the suitor would send her into a rage so that she could never love him. Driven to a temper and frenzy that she should love anybody even in his death- he stabbed her.

It killed her instantly where she slumped wordlessly to the floor unconscious. Then, with the same dagger he used to do his deed, cut her heart out in the hopes that he would have her heart-and her heart alone to himself. It was after he did all this that he suddenly felt great remorse for what he did than a spell of some unknown magic bore him to resemble a hideous figure-a strange entity-a being so disturbing that many would cower in fear and run from his existence.

All these years it anguished him to a point of near death as he thought guiltily he had killed two innocent lives because of his vanity and lovesickness, and it was because of this enchantment that he was sent for the last two-hundred years to serve penance punishing those who had committed heinous crimes like he by eating them whole. The Punisher…the Terrible…the Crooked One…Colin the Merciless…

Slenderman fingered the journal. This journal depicted his entire fate: His thoughts when he was younger, his feelings of loneliness, and especially what he thought about Lyra…he closed the diary and put it off to the side to turn away, but not before a crystal tear slid from his face to stain it.

A glass container lay near the shadowed corner of the room that held the most bizarre specimen. It was a strange cage that held something crudely red and black in no perfect shape which was held suspended in midair giving it an odd appearance. But the most disturbing thing was that it pumped as though alive.

A pumping heart. But not just _any _heart-_his_ heart which was slowly turning black around the edges as though it had limited time to survive- because his real name wasn't Slenderman.

It was Colin Silvestri.


	9. Chapter 9-An Unfortunate Encounter

**Sorry guys about the previous chapter! xP Someone was kind enough to tell me that I had accidently posted a previous chapter instead of the one I had just made! Thank you to that someone who had emailed me because I was able to delete the chapter and post the right one! Posting new chapters and finding how things work in the site is still pretty new to me so I'm sorry once again but I'll get better at it somehow! xD**

**Anyways, enjoy the new chapter!**

**Chapter 9- An Unfortunate Encounter **

When Lyra woke up, she found herself on the bed of her room with no recollection of how she got there. All she remembered was being in the Eternal Field of Flowers before falling asleep. Then the only person who might have brought her here was…Slenderman.

She blushed slightly at the thought that he carried her back in his arms and-_Wait; did you just fantasize about him carrying you? _She chided to herself-but only half heartedly.

He had been awfully considerate then_. He was __such__ a gentleman_ she thought absentmindedly. She had been thinking a lot about him lately and nothing else-she enjoyed their conversation about books and life in general. Though she pretended not to notice, she observed more than countless times his gaze would wander towards hers as though studying her very closely (or rather checking her out) and would only look away when she turned his direction. It made her heart pump repeatedly fast every time he looked at her. She didn't know it until then that she was beginning to like him more and more…

Adjusted as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she spotted a paper at the light end of a small table near her bed. Curiously she reached for it to discover beautiful lettering addressed to her:

Lyra:

I am on the other side of the mountains doing Reparation work. I will be back in a few hours so don't you worry. If you wish to go out into the forest, you need only to say the words 'Descendra' and you will be at the woods. If you wish to return regardless of where you are in the forest, simply say 'Safe Return' and you will be back to the manor. If anything serious happens, simply say 'Silvestri' and I will appear to you.

Take care and be safe always.

-The Slenderman

Next to the letter she found a red rose which could not have been put there by anyone else. She stared at it nonplussed for a moment before smiling a beautiful smile. Slenderman had given her a rose. A _rose!_ And the most perfect one she could have seen at that. It was something very…romantic that he did, and it sent her blushing almost as red as the rose itself. She picked up the flower to bring it to her nose- It smelled wonderful and she closed her eyes dreamily as she thought that he might have had looked everywhere in the forest for one as stunning as this _for her._ He was so caring for her. Nobody had ever been like that to her for as long as she could remember: people would always look down at her clothes as she lived along the streets and men would undress her with their eyes. Slenderman however, was different. He didn't go trying to coerce her, he wouldn't look at her like those men did (though he did stare at her a lot when she wasn't looking) but it wasn't a gross stare he would give her, it was more of an admiration…almost love-like one. _Love? Did she just say he looked at her with love? _

Yes. She knew it-it was obvious…she felt love and she knew he felt it too.

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After fixing herself up and putting her hair in loose waves that nearly reached her stomach, she walked out in a gown perfect for outside. But before descending the stairs, she found herself stopping: she had somehow noticed the room upstairs that Slenderman had told her was overridden with dust. She was very curious as to what was up there. She recalled the day when she had asked him what was in there and how his voice changed abruptly to where he sounded suddenly melancholy and distant.

She longed to know what the secret was that lay hidden up there, but she didn't want to trespass into his stuff. _If only I knew what was up there._

She had an idea: A very reckless and unnerving feeling. What if she went up there to see what it was. It's not like she was going to steal anything of course, but still…

She fingered the rose in her pocket as though guilty that she would do something like this, but opted against it. Slowly she went up the stairs to his private chamber.

When she opened the door, she realized a different smell-a strange one as if foreign to her. As she stepped right in, she saw an intricate bookshelf that held a number of different volumes all depicting studies of astrology, geology, biology, chemistry, places of the world, and any number of folktale and story myths. She checked a book labeled "Curious Creations of Mythical Tales" and opened a page at random to find detailed illustrations of giants battling armies of dwarfs or Gaelic gnomes and silvery blue willow-the-wisps directing those that were lost in the deep forests of Scotland. Reluctantly she put it back so that in case Slenderman would come back, he wouldn't notice. Her eyes wandered to the room with a sudden frown. _This place doesn't have that much dust; in fact, it had less dust than what I discovered downstairs before I cleaned. What is he trying to hide? _She wondered.

She moved closer to examine a globe situated on a mahogany desk and gave it a slight twirl-then she noticed the journal.

It was bound with elegant black felt as she skimmed her hand on it softly. Looking behind her anxiously and with her heart pumping as if Slenderman would appear any second, her eyes roved the handwriting. A beautiful cursive filled page after page-then with a jolt she realized that it was Slenderman the one who was writing. As she skimmed through the pages, she suddenly caught sight of her name and eager to read something with her name, she read:

I see her every day. I watch her without realizing it myself. All the time we spend together fills me with happiness each day. The way her hair moves, the feel of her skin as she touches my hand…I find myself more and more attracted to her each day. I long for her laugh that sounds beautiful…her sweet scent…and her eyes: her bright emerald eyes that are the color of Spring which captivates me like no person; and every time she looks at me with a rapturous expression on her face, I feel an unfathomable urge to bring her in my arms and kiss her…

Lyra reread the lines twice, a thrilling emotion set on her face. For a moment, she forgot all about sneaking in here as she ran those words together.

He loved her.

_He loved her…he loved her…he loved her…_she repeated in her brain distantly while her heart pumped.

Was that _really _what he felt about her? But then, the next line made her stop dead cold.

But how can I tell her that I love her? I don't want to hurt her after what happened two hundred years ago. I'm not good enough for her…I don't want her to know what I did. Who would want to be with an insidious beast that had once ripped the heart of his earlier love to-

Lyra stopped here frozen on the words-_ripped the heart? _Whose heart? She felt with a shudder as though the words had the effect on her after a few seconds. _His earlier love…_

With a mad scramble to find who, she caught a page at random which unlucky for her was the origin of how it started.

How I became a faceless monster that everyone-including me, cringed at. I had my heart taken away and held in a glass tank. Forever it suspends there waiting for the spell to be released-if I could love correctly. If not..well…I will accompany death instead…

Five minutes of reading were enough to convince her that what she read was true…Slenderman had once fallen in love with a woman-Alianor Fairfax and had killed her.

At once she closed the book in horror as she backed away. Then she bumped into something. She turned around to see and her eyes fell upon the glass container. She shrank back, her eyes widening.

Inside held a heart that was black which at one time she was sure was crimson red. Slenderman's heart.

_No…Colin Silvestri's heart. _

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Lyra didn't know how she had managed to go down the stairs without knowing. All she could think about was what terrible secrets she had found there. She had bargained more than what she expected from reading his journal. She needed to talk about it with him…she _had_ to.

She needed time to think. To absorb things. She reached outside the manor and stood on the marble stone steps.

"Descendra," she whispered.

In a second, she found herself in the forest, away from the manor in the alpines. She decided to take a walk to decide things.

If she were to talk to him, would he get angry that she had been in his stuff? She felt sympathy for him. He had been a regular human being after all..but now he was in this form. How could she be able to tell him the truth?

After an hour of walking, she wondered vaguely if Slenderman had come back to the manor. Only thirty minutes had passed since he left, so she supposed he wouldn't be back.

She noticed her surroundings with a sudden surprise. She had been near the area where he had found her when she had been running away from the men. This was the place he had saved her…

"There you are," said a familiar but unpleasant voice behind her. She whirled around and her insides turned to cold ice as she realized who it was.

It was Fausto.

There was a look of suppressed triumph as he stared at her with murderous eyes as he slowly stalked towards her. She was just considering running when she noticed she was in a dead end. She turned to face Fausto in a look of concentrated anger, "what do _you_ want?" she spat with as much muster as she could.

Fausto stopped walking and looked at her with a curious expression, and then he laughed out loud so that it seemed to reach the treetops of the forest.

"Hahaha…oh…how did you guess?" he said ending his laugh and looking at her malevolently. "I have something to tell you which I'm sure will be of interest to you!"

What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I have something that belongs to you that I'm sure you will want to see." And with that, he produced the picture f Lyra's aunt and waved it at her so that she could see.

"What is that?" she gasped, wanting to take the picture. "Wherever did you get that from?"

Fausto grinned evilly, "This here is your long-lost family member-your aunt: Aunt Rose Capricorne."

I don't have any aunt!" she exclaimed contemptuously, "you're lying-you just want to kill me!"

"Oh, is that so?" he hissed. He threw the paper at her where she caught it nimbly in her fingers before it touched the ground. Keeping her eyes darting to Fausto, she found a picture of a woman with dishwater blonde hair and pale white rosy, slightly wrinkled skin like hers, but her eyes-her _eyes…_

They were green just like hers!

She scanned her eyes down to see an address. So she had an _aunt! Why hadn't she known after all this time?_

"You see now that I'm telling the truth?" he drawled. "You are one of the last direct descendants of the Capricornes-the other is your aunt. You got something from them when you died! A whole fortune!"

"That's not true!" said Lyra though she looked unsure. "I have no blasted fortune!"

"Do you? Why do you think you never received it?" he said slyly.

Lyra paused for a moment. She had run away from home…after the house had burned down covering her mother and father in ashes. It was such a long time ago when she was young that she had almost forgotten. Afterwards, she had lived out in the streets to care for herself. She clenched her hands to stop them from shaking so that Fausto would not see.

"What do you want?"

Fausto seemed pleased with her question. "Well, what I want for _you_ to do is follow me to town and into the bank."

"Bank? Why the bank?" she asked confused as she glared at him.

"Didn't you listen to a word I told you?"

"No, why should I?" she said contemptuously.

"Because," he smirked with a malevolent grin that showed his uneven yellow teeth, "You're family has over ten thousand pounds in their inheritance. All of them to you. The real problem comes: If you don't sign the papers to transfer the money _out, _then somebody else will have to suffer for the consequences. Somebody like _her._

His eyes fell on the paper Lyra was holding of her aunt. Her hand shook almost dropping it as she realized his true intentions. If she would do what he said, she would lose the money but save her aunt. If she didn't comply, then she would still have the money- but someone from her family would be dead.

Either way she was trapped.


	10. Tough DesicionsPlaying the Proxy

**Phew another chapter finished! I take an opportunity each day to write out a chapter in scratch paper before I post it wherever I may be so I won't have to spend so much time and effort at my house when I have chores to do. I am in cross country in the college and have had painful injuries on my knee. I was told to be out of practice for several weeks while it heals. It really bums me because I love to run and I feel so left out that it makes me feel lonely, but instead I have to go to this modified training program for it to get better. So while I am waiting for the trainer to stretch me out, I take the initiative to do something productive like writing the next chapter or do as much as I can while waiting for them to open up. I'm glad I do, otherwise I'd have to look forward to writing it from scratch when I get home! :p **

**Chapter 10-Tough Decisions…Playing the Proxy**

Lyra didn't know what to say as she heard the end of the sentence. Should she sign the documents that Fausto had ordered? If she didn't, then somebody would get hurt…

"I'll do it," she blurted.

Fausto gave an ugly grin knowing that he had managed to get his way, "Wonderful, I'm glad you are finally doing the right thing," he drawled.

Lyra longed to punch him to a pulp, even if she would get hurt; instead she clenched her teeth to stop herself. She thought of the time when she had been running from him and his henchmen and how scared she had been when she thought they would do awful things to her. She certainly didn't want anybody to have the same fate as her. Fortunately she had avoided that by running away, so nothing happened to her-but what about her aunt?

"Fine, I'll sign your damn papers, but only on my conditions!"

"What are those conditions?" he asked through narrow eyes.

"You can't let anything bad happen to her and-I'll accompany you today, but first I have to get a few things done, then I'll follow you to the place."

Fausto looked at her scandalized, "what exactly are you going to do-Do you think I am stupid? You'll probably run off before-But Lyra cut him off.

"Oh you can have that damn fortune, I won't be stupid enough to be a coward like last time while somebody gets hurt on account of me!" she said half putting on an act, half meaning it.

Fausto looked taken aback for a moment, but then snickered as he showed his cruel smile, "well it seems you finally realized that I am right and it won't solve you any problems to run away like last time-Fine I consent, but be quick about it-Go and return here!"

Lyra walked around him, her heart pumping but before doing so heard him say, "If you decide to double-cross me by trying to kill me, I have specific orders to my men to kill your aunt if I don't return or am blackmailed in any way!"

Lyra hurried away deep in the woods where she knew she was a mile from his position, all the while teeming from the information she had just heard.

So she had an aunt-and a fortune! The mere thought of it sent such a shock to her that she was now only registering it. An aunt? Why hadn't her parents told her when she was younger? Maybe she had been too little to remember it herself.

"Safe Return" She breathed, heart pumping.

She was back on the marble steps outside the manor and without a word; she strode over to the entrance doors to knock. But before she could do so, the doors sprung open as if on command to reveal Slenderman who looked as though he was just about to go outside.

"Oh, I see you have returned," he said with a soft chuckle. Then his face seemed to have adjusted to one of concern. "Is everything al alright?"

Lyra noticed that her face might have betrayed a look of horror mixed with distress. She said nothing, shaking her head.

"You don't look well, and your face is almost as pale as mine!" he said with a brief chuckle. Lyra tried to adopt a different expression that showed cheer, but she knew that she was failing miserably.

"No…I...I'm fine," she stuttered.

Slenderman looked at her still deeply concerned. "You say you are, but your eyes tell differently, you almost look like you're in tears." He put a slender comforting arm around her.

It was too much for her. She didn't care that she must have looked like a child when she felt so hopeless. She sobbed into the arms of a bewildered and sympathetic Slenderman who hugged her tightly in response.

"I…I c…can't stay here anymore!" she almost wailed as she clutched into black suit. Slenderman, who was rubbing small circles on her back soothingly while over her shoulder, suddenly stopped and looked at her, still hugging her. An unfathomable expression crossed his face. What happened?" he asked slowly dreading the answer.

"I…I can't tell you-you shouldn't know!" Then Lyra's tears stopped as she gazed up at Slenderman with her bright green eyes. The single last tear rolled down her left cheek and Slenderman reached a single finger to wipe it away softly. When she didn't answer, he bowed his head and slowly turned away, fearing for the worst, "w…what did you find out?" It was the first time she saw him get uneasy. Usually he was always eloquent.

Dawning had suddenly come to Lyra. She had suddenly realized that he might have known that she was in his room and found out the truth.

"No…it's not that!" She said. Slenderman turned away as though to look at the view of the forest dejectedly.

"No…I…look: it's not about _that, _but I…I know about _her." _she ended.

Slenderman turned quickly towards her. If he had a face as discernible as a human's, it would show guilt, insecurity, and fear.

"How…how did you-" But Lyra cut him off.

"I know what you did to the girl you loved-Alianor. I'm…I'm sorry I found out…I just wanted to tell you that-

"You don't have to apologize for anything" he interrupted, "I should be the one asking for your forgiveness" he said turning away once again.

_That's it _he thought with deep sadness. _She'll never love me at this point. After all, she probably didn't even feel the same as me. It's my entire fault for not telling her the truth in the first place-I mean, who would fall in love with someone like me who cuts the heart of the one he used to love?_ He closed his eyes wishing death could take him sooner.

"I had just wanted to tell you that I don't care if you did."

Slenderman froze and opened his eyes to find Lyra looking at her solemnly.

"I…I just wanted you to know that…that…even though I know you ripped the heart of someone long ago and you shouldn't have done that…I just wanted to tell you that even though you did something like that long ago…it..it…

Lyra paused as she wiped away another tear that had fallen, "I just wanted to say that it won't change anything between us…"

Slenderman stared at her with the most incredulous expression he could muster. He was thrown back-what did she mean?

Lyra walked towards him, her heart starting to beat faster and faster as though it would burst from her chest. "Even though you made that mistake…I want to be with you always…" then she seemed to whisper loud enough for him to hear:

"…Colin…"

He turned, surprised at hearing a name he hadn't heard in over two hundred years. She had just said his name and was right in front of him. Then she suddenly did something he never expected from her: she tugged his red tie down making him bend a little, surprising him, pressed her lips-

And kissed him on his pale cheek.

Slenderman could feel himself blushing madly; and it was only when he looked up that he saw her eyes-her amazingly green eyes meeting his face so that it reflected back in her orbs, than his brain etched in harmony with the words. _She kissed me…she kissed me…she kissed me even though she knows what I've done…_

"I just wanted to tell you that…I love being with you ever day. I love you for saving me days ago when I had the men after me…I love your company always and long for your return…I love you for-

Slenderman didn't let her finish as he suddenly as he crashed his lips upon hers in kiss. It was a hot passionate kiss that took her by surprise before she returned it, a swooping powerful feeling in her heart. He was kissing her as if he would never do so again. His hand caressed her check as he continued to do so, with one hand behind her back in a hug as his hand searched her back….they were pressed up together…both their hearts –or at least her heart thumped in his chest…

They broke away breathless and they had eyes for one another (or at least, gazes)-then she remembered the deal with Fausto.

"That's not…that's not why I need to go, I needed to go for another reason." She said breathless as she pulled Slenderman into a hug then broke away to look up at him.

"I don't have that much time; all I can tell you is this: the men who were after me had told me that I needed to do something important."

"The men…are they the same men who had threatened you?" he said in a growl-but not directed at her, "where are they, they will pay rightfully now that they are in the forest!"

"No! You can't kill him; I have a deal to make!" She hurriedly told him, "I have a family fortune and they said if I don't sign the documents, then his men will kill my aunt!"

Slenderman's furious gaze thinking of the men who had dared threaten her coursed through his veins like a wildfire, but he calmed enough to hear her, "what if I just kill him?"

"Don't do that-he said that he gave his men specific orders to kill her if he were to not come back alive!" she said frantically.

"Then in that case, I'm coming with you!" he said firmly. But Lyra shook her head wildly, "No! He mustn't see you or he might call the deal off and hurt her, I've got to settle this once and for all. I don't want him to get the money _or_ kill my aunt, so I have to do this once and for all-I've got to stand up to him and fight!" Lyra ended with a sigh, clenching her hands firmly with a determined look in her eyes. Slenderman considered her for a moment then seeming to come up with something, he drew her into another kiss.

Bewildered, Lyra felt his smooth lips against her once again. This kiss however, was oddly different: It was hot and more passionate than the ones he had given her and somewhere in her heart she began to feel a strange, incredibly pleasant tingling feeling that was gone as quickly as it came. Lyra looked up at him confused for a moment, before the eyebrows on his face revealed a lovable expression.

"That was called the Proxy's Kiss," he said, taking hold of her hand in his and gently holding it to his face, "I have given you some of my power to help you fight them." He tenderly, brought her hand up to his face to give it a kiss. "However, if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, then call my last name-Silvestri, as you know: and I will find you."

The pair looked at each other sharing one last time together. He brought her into another kiss-well, more like kisses. His face searched for hers as he gently kissed her forehead, her ears, and nuzzled around her neck, earning soft moans from her.

"Good luck, I love you" he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," came her reply before disappearing from the slope.

**Coming up next, what will happen to Lyra when she gets back to the men? Will things turn out alright? Or will Lyra get into trouble? Stay tuned!** **xD **


	11. Lyra's Fight Back!

**Wow. I really had a lot of grammatical errors that last chapter ** **and all because I was eager to update as soon as possible! Hopefully you guys will forgive me for that and the way things will happen between Lyra and Slenderm- um…err…Colin.**

**Anyways ignore my silly rant and enjoy the chapter! xD**

**Chapter 11- Lyra's Fight Back **

"What took you so long?" Fausto yelled at her as soon as she had appeared, "I was beginning think you had run off!"

"Of course not," she said stonily back.

"Well, good because it would, be too hard think of the correct way to kill your-what was her name?-Aunt Rose? It would sure be a bitch." He smiled showing all his yellow teeth.

It took all of Lyra's self-control to not retort back or land a punch his stupid face so that teeth would come falling out. Instead, she preferred to go over a plan in her head-the plan to tip them off, so she replied as coldly as possible.

"Bring me to her first."

Fausto looked at her with an outraged expression, "You just said-

"I'm not consenting to _anything_ unless I see her for myself. I'm not about to save somebody without seeing her first!"

Fausto looked murderous. "You dare-

"Yes I dare! You can have the stupid fortune, but I need to see her first!"

"FINE-YOU WIN!" yelled Fausto loudly so that several birds in the nearby tree flew away, "FINE! BUT MARK MY WORDS: YOU BETTER DO WHAT WE SAY!"

Lyra cringed inwardly at the words but nodded. After all, a nod was as good as a wink to a blind horse, "Lead me to her then."

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It was noontime when they had arrived at the city where Lyra was. The familiar hazy town greeted her in a melancholy state. She had almost forgotten about it from being in the forest for so long. It looked dead-all in the color gray like she had remembered. She forced herself to walk slowly on next to Fausto who prodded her further.

A timid child with scraggly blond hair that was in rags, looked at her curiously, peeking through the doorway of his pitiful home to watch the procession. She gave a small smile to him that was not returned, because he disappeared so fast, that she thought he could have teleported. Then the thought of teleportation made her remember Slenderman-Colin; she reached from a hidden pocket to finger a sharp object she had taken from the mansion-a red crusted dagger about one foot long-then she quickly drew back her hand as though worried that Fausto would see. The plan was a reckless one-but she had a chance: she would try to kill-or at least disarm as many of the men as she could.

He led her into a secret alleyway that seemed to be on the outskirts of town. The smell was damp and the walls just like every other part of the city seemed to be twice as filthy here.

"Get up in front, it's here!" he said. There was a house that looked like it had once been pretty but was now in ruins. The house had a rooftop set with bricks that were missing in some places and the windows looked to be boarded up from the inside. _For obvious reasons._

Fausto knocked on the door three times and was met with a disheveled bearded man with a slash on one eye.

"Did ye get her?"

"I sure did, Brutus. That girl was stupid at first, but she agreed to it."

They were let inside where it seemed to be in fairly good condition. Stairs that lead to rooms upstairs, a sitting room and-

Lyra's heart stopped in her throat: sitting on the bench surrounded by three men who banded her with ropes was-_her aunt._

"Lyra? Lyra is that you…!" said the woman from the picture. She had dishwater blond hair and pale skin. And most of all, she had green eyes _just like her._

Lyra immediately crossed over to the room in one bound into her aunt's welcoming arms.

"I…I th…thought…y…you had d…died," she sobbed uncontrollably as she brought a kiss to her niece. "Everybody told me t…that you had died and…and…" she could say no more.

"It's ok Aunt Rose, I'm fine now," she said soothingly, yet she started to feel tears come out of her own eyes. Glancing sideways at the henchmen to find them rolling their eyes irritably, she whispered in her aunt's ear.

"Aunt, have they told you what they want me to do?"

"Yes…

"I have a little plan…" at this moment, Lyra began fumbling with the knots on her without anybody looking. "I'm freeing you at this moment. What you're going to do is get up really fast and run straight to the door." Lyra slowly drew the dagger she had kept from her hidden pocket…

Without warning, Lyra thrust it out to stab it to the nearest man. She caught him in the chest, and he staggered blindly, clutching his chest.

"What the-

But in a flash, she came to the next person while her aunt got out of the way in a hurry to reach the exit. Unfortunately some men seemed to know that in the midst of confusion, she was trying to escape.

"NO!" Lyra yelled, and suddenly the most curious thing happened to her: The moment she yelled out, something out of her back came whizzing towards the men who had barred the way.

Then men were thrown out of the way by the strange thing as Lyra slowly registered what had happened. The something black that was somehow protruding from her back and sending a tingle feeling near her heart was-a tentacle! Bewildered and nonplussed she stared wide eyed at it before a memory the Slenderman had come to her:

"_That was called the Proxy's Kiss;_ _I have given you some of my power to help you fight them…"_

A cry of fury had broken from someone, making her turn around: Fausto, with a gash on his cheek that must have come from falling wrenched open the door to sprint outside. Lyra wanted to go after him, but she already had men coming at her from all directions after looking perplexedly at the tentacle protruding wave-like from her back. She gave her flummoxed aunt a curt nod to tell her to go upstairs which she did.

"Here ye little girly…we won't hurt ya…we just want to have a little fun with you!"

"You can all rot in hell and have the birds eat your entrails for all I care!" she yelled at them. They were circling her, waiting for the right moment to grab her...

The door burst open to show more of the henchmen-twenty of them. Lyra took the initiative of their distraction to side-sweep more of her opponents. The men that had just appeared had knives and they backed her farther into the corner so she would have nowhere to escape. Fausto was nowhere to be seen. He probably had disappeared.

There was a cry from upstairs, startling all of them. A pot flew towards one of the men, hitting its mark with a dull thunk. The man howled and pressed his hands together on the spot.

"You bitch, now we're _really_ gonna kill you!" yelled the man Lamar.

Something from the men came whizzing towards her: a heavy metal cup-she was too late to duck, and it hit her squarely on the face. For a moment, her head spun with the pain.

"Great job, Crowley,"

The men drew slowly near her, trapping her more. There would be too many of them to fend off, even with the tentacle when her head was spinning and things in her vision were slightly disoriented.

She had nowhere to run. She was trapped now…


	12. The Terrible Wrath of Slenderman

Yays! Finally another chapter done before I can get to sleep! Just want to tell you guys that this next chapter will be described pretty graphically...or maybe not…nvrmind, just wanted to tell you that. But anyways, I am very pleased with how this turned out. Enjoy!

**Chapter 12-The Terrible Wrath of Slenderman**

"We got ye now," yelled the men coming near to her. She was trapped. She swung her tentacle at the nearest man, hitting him, but more men came closer to her in a leering grin. It was over now, she could feel it…

"Don't touch me…!" she yelled as she covered her eyes and crouched in a corner away from the men…" it was over now…

"Says who little girly?" said one of the men in front of her

"Says me," snarled a familiar voice behind them.

Lyra sprang her eyes open, and the heads of all the men turned around chuckling…only to have their expressions filled in horror.

Slenderman stood at the doorway impressively with his slender legs apart looking at the men who were frozen in fear. Even though he was faceless, he seemed to implement a daunting silhouette that chilled even the bravest man. Lyra's heart leaped in her chest joyfully seeing him come to her rescue; she quickly darted away unbeknownst to the men who were staring at him open-mouthed in terror.

"You dare touch the woman I love?" he snarled again, and for full effect that seemed to tear the entire house apart he thundered in a voice that vibrated the entire house; "NOW YOU SHALL PAY-COWER IMPUDENT SCUM!" All eight tentacles from his back sprouted out.

It was at this moment that Lyra finally understood the reason what made Slenderman so horrifying that had men scramble away from him all these years…because at this moment, she would witness his very wrath that would terrorize all to the point of insanity.

He fell down on them like a terrible storm.

In a flurry of flash like a terrifying spirit, he flay the men mercilessly with his tentacles that repeatedly rose in the air, striking them like lightning, his body moving in gorgeously cruel positions. The men screamed, trying to protect themselves as they scrambled out of their way to escape the menace that was ongoing. They grabbed any weapons they found-daggers-shields-plates…even a broom, hopelessly trying to fight the terrible monster that had appeared on their doorway like a terrible demon…the one who would put justice to this entire ordeal-but to no avail; for Slenderman, outraged with his blood boiling, teeming the rest of his body on fire, was bloodthirsty at this moment. Lyra lay huddled in a corner to stay away from the fighting as she covered her ears from the terrible screams.

The air was filled with ripping sounds-_human_ flesh was torn apart from the men's very bodies! The tentacles as well as Slenderman's arms resembled claws now- the air was filled with the scent of blood as it came gushing…no-_squirting_ in all directions unchecked as the howls and shrieks were the only discernible noise that tore the night air. The sound was so horrifying and disturbing that Lyra shut her eyes and ears as much as she could…but she could still hear the piercing yells as they rang in her ears…

The men gave up hopeless and with terror as they abandoned any sign of fighting, scrambling over each other to get away and injuring their fellow friends in the process. The complete disarray and confusion of the men being torn apart was everywhere-bodies flying, decapitated men still standing before dropping dead- the blood running profusely over the floor that was covered in crimson blood; Yet the Slenderman came at them with an expression too terrible for human eyes to look at. He didn't stop his bloodthirsty frenzy as his body twisted in wild positions and impaled limbs left and right, but only after the screams that split the night air from the men were too unrecognizable to be distinguished between animal or human…

And then it suddenly stopped.

There were no more screams, no more men, and no more bodies, though they were so terribly slashed to a pulp that they were destroyed beyond recognition. There was dead silence

"Lyra?"

Lyra opened her eyes to find herself looking at Slenderman, whose face was bloody from the frenzy. His face was no longer terrible…but of a concerned tenderness. His suit, however, looked immaculate, probably because it repelled any blood that flew unchecked from what was left of the men. But next second, when she looked up, his face was just as clean, void of any blood.

She flung herself at him crashing her lips against his as the Slenderman wrapped her in a tight embrace. His hand was around her head while the other gently around her back (his tentacles had disappeared), pulling their bodies together…

Suddenly Lyra opened her eyes from this heaven to find her aunt peering in terror at the pair of them. Her aunt, she noticed, held a dagger as though preparing to fight for her life.

"Auntie you're ok!"

She broke away from her lover's arms to dash forward to her aunt. "It's ok, we're alright, the men are gone! There's no need to worry!" Her Aunt, shocked for a moment suddenly threw aside the dagger and scrambled down the stairs with arms open for a tight embrace. Aunt Rose's body wracked with uncontrollable sobs.

"Oh…Lyra…_oh Lyra_…" She pulled her head from her shoulder to look at her niece. "Are the terrible men gone? Who is _he?"_

She motioned to Slenderman, scared that he would hurt her; but Slenderman only chuckled and brought his head to a polite bow and crossed one arm over his chest as he did so, "Good evening Madam Capricorne, I come with polite intentions-please forgive my appearance from earlier, the pleasure is all mine."

Her Aunt Rose blinked for a moment before relaxing, realizing that he meant no harm. "N…no by all means, the pleasure is all mine…" she said weakly, then faltered, "I…ah…sir…who are you?"

Lyra responded before he could with a smile. She pushed her dark hair from her eyes and said earnestly, "Aunt, you don't need to sound scared, he was only trying to protect us…his name is Slend-Colin. Colin Silvestri: My friend and my lover."

Her Aunt seemed too taken aback to respond, but when she found her voice, all she could say was, "Your…your lover..?"

Yes Aunt, I love him very much-you have no idea how many times he has saved me from death." She looked up lovingly at him at which he returned right back. Then something escaped her brain and she turned to Slenderman, horrified.

"Fausto-I mean, the leader of the group-he was nowhere near here…He fled!" she gasped out. "I have to find him!"

Slenderman put both his hands on her shoulder, and bending his head to look down at her wide, gorgeous emerald orbs determinedly.

"Then we'll do it-_together,_ and give him what he deserves!"

**The story isn't over yet! Stay tuned to find what will happen to Fausto! :D**


	13. The Reparation

**Fausto finally gets what he deserves! :D**

**Chapter 13- The Reparation**

Fausto ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the cobbled, run-down streets of the dismal city. There was no source of light for the man as his heart pounded heavily from the scene in the house that he had witnessed happen to his men.

What was that…that-_thing _that he just saw? It tore his men limb from limb and much more! No person could _ever _do something as horrific as what he just saw! His plan had gone terribly wrong…how could he ever think that he would get away with something like this when it seemed that the stupid girl had a trick up her sleeve? He had never felt so wrong in his entire life-nor scared as he was now. He pushed blindly through the streets, past alleys, darted over old trash hangars, and ducked under clothespin lines. He knew the thing that had killed those men was after him…

Fausto cursed loudly, stopping short-he was at a dead end. Could he backtrack and go perhaps another way before…then he heard a noise that made his very body shiver in fear.

The killing machine he was running from.

Slenderman with his impeccable suit stood in the middle, blocking his path so he had nowhere to go. Lyra, he saw, stood next to the tall man with a look of fury on her face.

"First you try to kidnap me unlawfully, then you try to steal my fortune, then try to kill my aunt, and now you're running away from all of this like a coward?! GO TO HELL!"

Slenderman's eight tentacles erupted and immediately bound the struggling Fausto who was casting fearful looks. The long tentacles seized him tightly around the ankles, legs, arms, and another around his stomach octopus-hold as they brought their victim at Slenderman's head level.

"Gotcha." He simply said. And in a second, all of them vanished on the spot, leaving the alleyway empty as before.

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Fausto fell heavily upon a grassy turf of an unknown place. His arms ached from the hold and he scrambled to his feet to bear his surroundings. He looked to be in a middle of a dark forest with no thought of having gotten there. His insides shuddered as he cast his eyes wildly about the darkness as though scared that something menacing would jump out at him. The nightmarish fiend was gone…or was it? He heard a noise-a horrible static noise that vibrated his vision.

He turned stupidly on the spot wetting himself in the process-to find an intimidating, horrifying silhouette not far from his spot of the tall being.

He ran and ran and ran. Fresh fear tore his chest as for once in a long time in his life, he ran from something he didn't know. He heard a rustling behind him that was scaring him blind out of his wits. He could feel the thing right behind him…

"Stop!" he screamed hoarsely as he tripped over rocks, bushes, tree stumps in the dark, and even his own feet away from the thing that was pursuing him in the dark. The stars were no comfort to him, neither the giant white moon who displayed her face over the face of the terrified man.

"LEAVE ME ALONE-LEAVE ME ALONE!" he cried into the night.

But he continued hearing the sound behind him grow steadily more static so he gave out choking words. Where was that noise from anyway-what kind of creature did a noise like_ that?_ He was just like a victim running from a predator…

He had reached an end of a cliff. Fausto was too scared to whip his head behind him and stood at the brink. A tree stood erect at the very edge-his only hope for protection now. As he hid behind it, not sure that the tall man was behind him, he suddenly noticed a white square-the only thing that did not belong to the forest here: a white page. But it wasn't just a blank one-it had strange formidable lettering as though it was drawn in a hurry all forming the words in the middle of the sheet:

**BeHinD YoU **

Fausto whipped around, his heart in his feet at the forest behind him. There was nothing. No sound-not even the chirping of crickets. He turned back and with his insides jarred, came face to face with none other than Lyra Capricorn the girl who stood waiting with a snarl on her face.

"DIE!" she screamed.

Her hand was no longer a hand. It had changed to a sharp pale claw which she thrust straight through the chest of her past tormenter to impale him; and through the squelch of tissue torn, produced something from within his body she had taken without his consent: a bloody and violently pumping heart.

There came a scream which nobody, not even miles around could fail to hear as the man gave once last lurch, body struggling vainly for breath-as it was heard all throughout the forest reminding them of the terrible sins he had committed: his past treachery and slaughter, his actions of depravity to suit himself-all of it was now paid at this moment as the now bloody hand plunged away from the victim as he finally lay slumped on the floor of the forest, no longer a threat to anybody…

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Lyra shivered slightly, staring at the limp body of her enemy that would no longer be able to move again. He ended his death with a look of pain and terror on his face that would cause nobody harm ever again. In her hand, she clutched the slimy bloody heart of the man that was no longer pumping, but a still dead silent one just like its host. It was over now. She chucked the heart over the cliff.

Slenderman appeared by her side, putting a hand on her shoulder in comfort as the pair both looked down at the dead corpse which lay pitifully on the cliff.

"At last…it's over…" she said finally and no longer breathless.

"That's right," he said and gave the body a kick so that it fell over the cliff. There was no sound for a moment…then a sickening thud was heard as it fell to the bottom.

"That despicable man didn't deserve a proper burial…and I was not about to have my tentacles carry that much baggage when I could just kick him off!" he said sarcastically throwing a smile at Lyra.

"Exactly-I couldn't agree more." she softly taking his hand into hers which he returned. Their fingers were interlocking as they gazed out past the cliff where the forest at night lay below and the mountains were barely noticeable because the of the stars' luminosity. "He had it coming-he got what he deserved in the end: The Reparation."

"The Reparation," he repeated fondly.

Lyra turned to him and hugged him, but not before giving him a kiss on the cheek making him blush once again and paused: "Thank you for your help, I could never have done it without you, you know."

"I know."

"And…" she said as though considering something playfully, "I don't believe I told you something myself, though I've been meaning to say it for the longest time."

Slenderman smiled."And what would that be?"

Lyra looked up at him with starlight in her eyes so that it seemed to glow his entire pale face as it was inches from her own. An orchestra of crickets could be heard distantly… A second passed where there was nothing, but half an inch gap between their lips and the magnificent moon making an appearance between them in the background as the cool wind blew.

"I love you."

Then their lips met as the silhouetted figures standing near the cliff embraced under the starry sky, as though they would never let go or as if the events of earlier had never before happened.

**Yays! Such a sweet ending!- But wait! It's not over yet! There's one last chapter to read that tie up all the loose ends! Stay tuned!**


	14. Finally Returning Home

**Hello everybody! I now am proud to present the final chapter and conclusion to this tale, "Finally Returning Home". Even though it's been a week since I had started this story and indeed gotten my first fanfiction account, I feel as if it has been a long journey towards the end. I can't believe I'm done with this story and sense as if this story had a long way to go before reaching the end-in a way the ending makes me sad even though it ends well…:(**

**Chapter 14-Finally Returning Home**

"I'm sorry about all this" said Lyra embarrassedly as they walked the streets the next morning.

"Don't be silly, dear," said her Aunt Rose looking at her surprised as she lead them westward through the narrow cities to reach the bank. "You and your…er friend saved me last night, so I am in your debt."

For the last three days, Lyra had spent those days in her aunt's house explaining everything that had happened: The day she was on the streets…how Fausto and his men had hunt her down in the forest…to how the Slenderman saved her and what she found out about his fate… all that while she was staying.

Her Aunt Rose had also offered Slenderman to come as well to stay, but he declined repeatedly. After all, he was Slenderman and would be bound to scare the majority of the people away and questions would be raised, so he ventured back home with the impression that Lyra would stay a little longer with her aunt.

Lyra and her aunt had gone to the bank to discover with such a shock that there _was _indeed a fortune which would have been guaranteed to sustain a person for thirty years. She signed the documents with her aunt together in the room of the bank while they sat at the table.

She didn't know why she didn't feel that remotely happy when it was found she would receive so much; perhaps it was the thought that it would mean she would have to move back into the city with her aunt that greatly depressed her. She put the pen down suddenly: She was one signature away from declaring herself the rightful owner of fifty thousand pounds. She knew she should be happy, but yet it gave her a nagging feeling that there was something vital missing from this. She had an aunt that would be there for her always just like a mother would and she would be living in a nice big house…so why wasn't she feeling happy?

"Lyra-Lyra, are you alright?" came her aunt's voice from far away.

Lyra awoke from her trance immediately. Unbeknownst to herself but her aunt, she had been found gazing forlornly out the bank window which had light shining through their faces.

"I…uh…" she began, "I'm ok…"

"Really Lyra, you have been spacing out a lot lately-what had got into you?"

Lyra didn't answer immediately as her thoughts wandered to Slenderman back at home where she knew must be thinking about her forsakenly in his chamber. She wished to see the forest, the way the sunlight brought out the color in trees' green leaves, brightening the woods…she longed to lie down in a mountain of petals in the Field of Eternal Flowers…but most of all: She missed her beloved Slenderman who had always felt for her…been there for her when nobody else had…she loved him because he loved her individual like nobody else.

Aunt Rose studied her niece's face closely for a moment before smiling and putting a comforting arm around her. "Lyra, what do you really want to do with your life?" she asked gently. Then, casting her gaze in both directions as though somebody would hear, she again asked, "Do you miss him that much?"

Lyra looked up at her, surprise showing in her green emerald eyes.

"I knew it was that from the moment you looked at each other when he saved you that you had vowed secretly to give your heart to him."

Lyra could only listen, but then she spoke after a brief period of pause, "Well you see aunt, I love him and I want to be with him but you're my aunt and I thought-" but Aunt Rose waved a hand momentarily.

"Lyra…I must say, I would like you to come live with me and my husband in our home in England, but you also have the right to chose what you want in life. If you were to go with us, you would no doubt however, begin to feel disconcerted from the feeling of being away from where he is…everyday you would begin to wonder whether you had done the right decision and will go mad with trying to figure out if it was the best."

"What are you saying?" said Lyra in a hushed voice. Her aunt merely smiled before laughing-a kind and pleasant laugh to look at her seriously.

"What I mean Lyra, is that maybe you should do the thing you want most of all-if he can make you happy, then I will be happy as well."

Lyra looked down at her lap, brushing off a piece of lint on her dress before saying in a small voice, "Aunt, your not mad that I'm in love with, him are you?"

Her Aunt looked at her momentarily puzzled at this question, but a strange smile came to her lips.

"Lyra, the fact that you found love in your life is the most precious thing you could have. There is nothing wrong with loving somebody, no matter how different he is."

Her aunt got up from the chair to return the pencil to the right place and walk to the front desk. But before doing she turned round to look at Lyra with a broad smile in her face that seemed to illuminate the whole room.

"If you have made up your mind about what you really want, I suggest you go meet him."

This left Lyra to ponder for a few seconds. Then a smile came to her face, knowing what she wanted in the whole wide world.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Slenderman was in his private studies staring at the broken casket that had burst. The heart was no longer there and seemed to be gone, but Slenderman knew where it had gone as he could feel finally for the first time, a correct slow beating in his chest.

He hadn't seen Lyra for three days and already he was missing her terribly. The mansion no longer seemed like a home anymore…the forests were no longer interesting to his eyes…and he could find nothing else to think about but knowing that she would be united with her aunt and want to stay with her.

_She loves you_ said the soothing voice in his head.

_She DID love you, but now she can't be with you anymore. Let's face it: She's going to want to stay with her aunt now that she had found her after 19 years._

Slenderman could feel the weight of seclusion down at the pit of his heart. He wished somehow that he had told her before to remember to visit him so that they would be able to see each other again sometime…

He sensed a sudden something in the air all of a sudden: something was in his manor. He crossed the door with graceful legs to open the door and pulled open to discover a pale, dark-haired, green-eyed someone staring up at him breathlessly with no words. Lyra Capricorne.

"Lyra?" he asked incredulous, his heart swelling with true joy. She came in with her arms around him in an embrace and holding as if she would never let go. Eventually she did and looked up at him becomingly through her eyelashes. "Yes Colin, I'm here." She said smiling.

"Have you come to say goodbye?" he asked, nervous for what choice she would make.

"Actually no, I came here to say hello."

Slenderman looked away though, and a new expression had come over his face, but not about her.

"Lyra…"he began; "the spell didn't turn me back human," he said dejectedly, "I will never be able to change my form."

If he was thinking that Lyra would be irked and say that she would not want to stay, he was greatly mistaken. She gave one tilt of her eyes up as though pretending to consider then said, "so what?"

He stared at her, unsure whether she was saying the thing he longed to hear from her…

"I don't care," she said and brought both her hands against his chest while looking up at him keenly, "Back several days, I told you my feelings and I haven't changed them since."

Slenderman could only stare in incredulity at her beautiful eyes which were interlocked in where his eyes would be. He was feeling an incredibly glorious sensation that spread like wildfire throughout his entire body…

"You-you really mean it?" he breathed.

"Of course, I want to live with you forever."

And those were the words he was looking for as his lips met hers in a passionate kiss. He raised his mouth, kissing her gently to her forehead and her eyelids as she too-returned his love…He suddenly picked her up bridal style to the brief surprise of Lyra before she wrapped her arms around his collar and beaming back at him.

He opened the door of his private bedroom with Lyra in his arms as the pair of them and closed the doors behind them for privacy.

The End.

**Yay I finally finished this story! I'll be writing other stories and stuff guys, so remember to read them! I'll probably be uploading them somewhere next week. I would like to most importantly thank all of you for taking the time to read my first story I have ever written in the fanfiction site. Thank you all for commenting-it was very helpful and especially entertaining! I honestly would not have gone this far if it wasn't for your supporting words and attention to it, so thank you all! :D :D :D**


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